Town promotes inclusivity with new rainbow pride crosswalk

By Michelle Poirier

The Town of Georgina held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Rainbow Pride crosswalk that promotes inclusivity on November 27.

The crosswalk is located in the uptown Keswick Business Improvement Area at Simcoe Avenue and The Queensway South.

“The goal of the Rainbow Pride crosswalk is to show the Town of Georgina’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness,” Mayor Margaret Quirk said in a press release.

Mayor Quirk led the ribbon cutting and invited members of various groups to help hold the ribbon along the crosswalk.

“This is the second Rainbow Pride crosswalk in all of York Region, and we’re really proud and happy to have it here in uptown Keswick,” Mayor Quirk said during the ribbon-cutting.

“I know that a lot of individuals and groups have been asking for this over the last number of years, and we were very supportive of making this happen.”

Dave Williams, a founding volunteer of York Pride, is proud of the Town’s efforts.

He said after visiting Mayor Quirk’s office seven years ago and seeing the crosswalk unveiling, things have gone from good to better.

“We’ve had social events in downtown Sutton that I never thought in my wildest dreams we would be doing, and we’ve done it, and now we’ve got this,” he said.

Mayor Quirk said while the Facebook post announcing the crosswalk received some negative comments, the majority were positive.

“People say, well, why is this important? It’s the conversation you have about why it is important that makes it important,” she said.

Members of Georgina Pride were also in attendance for the ribbon-cutting.

“The crosswalk makes me feel excited for the simple fact that we need to be visible every day, not just one or two months out of the year,” Leah Sheridan, one of the founders of Georgina Pride, said.

“With this being here, people see it, and they know that there’s a community out there for them, and it makes Georgina more welcoming and inclusive.”

Many residents also came out to watch the ribbon cutting, and as the crowd started to disperse, members of Georgina Pride symbolically crossed the street.